War hero buried in town to receive road name tribute

Victoria Cross awardee Anthony Palmer, (inset), has a memorial, left, in Heywood Cemetery where he is buried

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A Crimean War hero soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery on the battlefield is set to have a Heywood road named in his honour.

VC hero Private Anthony Palmer, who is buried at Heywood Cemetery, was honoured by Queen Victoria after he saved the life of a senior officer.

Now the council is looking to name a road in Heywood in his memory – after our sister papers the Middleton Guardian and Rochdale Observer campaigned to get the council to create a lasting tribute to the borough’s Victoria Cross winners.

Coun Alan McCarthy, Rochdale council’s lead member for the armed forces, said a report is due to be submitted to the next meeting of Heywood township, where the idea will be discussed.

He said: “Although Pte Anthony Palmer VC was not born in Heywood, we are the custodians of his remains.

“Pte Palmer is interned in a family plot in Heywood Cemetery, with a memorial plaque in his honour already dedicated on the wall of Cemetery Chapel.”

The move is supported by veteran groups across Heywood with Harry Mills, chairman of Lancashire Veterans Association, saying all Victoria Cross winners in the borough should have a street named after them.

Pte Palmer, who was born in Cheshire, enlisted in the 3rd battalion, the Grenadier Guards, in March 1838.

His citation reads that in November, 1854, in the Battle of Inkerman, he charged against an ‘overwhelming’ number of enemy Russian soldiers. After the charge he saved the life of Major Sir Charles Russell, who was about to be stabbed with a bayonet.”

Pte Palmer was presented with the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour, by Queen Victoria at Hyde Park in London in June, 1857.

He was discharged from service with a pension on March 24 1863.

After his military career he worked for the Millwall Dock Company where he rose to become head constable.

Pte Palmer died at The Glen, Crumpsall Hospital, on December 12, 1892, aged 73.

He was buried at Heywood Cemetery, in his family plot with father James and mother Mary Rachel, four days later.

The citation on his gravestone reads ‘An upright, valorous, god-fearing hero much beloved’.

And etched on the chapel wall in the graveyard is also a separate memorial.

Victoria Cross medals are made from guns used in the Crimean War.

The council meeting to decide on the naming honour will be held on September 2.

If agreed, it will be the second road in Heywood to be named after a hero solider.

In May L/Cpl Stephen Shaw MC Way was unveiled in the town centre.

The road is named after Lance Corporal Stephen Shaw, 24, who was awarded the Military Cross after risking his life to pull a fellow soldier to safety after he had been shot in the leg.

n Are you a relative of Pte Anthony Palmer VC? If so call the Heywood Advertiser on 0161 211 2329.